Ending Mandatory Mail Order Prescriptions
Medications are a priority and an individual deserves to have the ability to get them in the most reliable and convenient manner. Unfortunately, insurance companies have been forcing consumers to order their prescriptions by mail which has hurt both the consumer and local neighborhood pharmacies.
To end this practice, I worked with my colleagues in the Legislature and passed a bill that prohibits insurance companies from forcing consumers to purchase their prescription medications through the mail. I'm proud to report that Governor Cuomo signed the bill into law.
When purchase through mail is mandated, people lose the one-on-one interaction with their neighborhood pharmacist whom they trust. Local pharmacists know their customers and their histories, while mail order services do not. Likewise, many pharmacies do offer delivery services.
Consumers, especially senior citizens, rely on their local pharmacist to explain the use and potential effects of a prescription drug. Being forced to send away for medication deprives them of this. Also, the possibility of a prescription getting lost or stolen in the mail puts the consumer in the extremely dangerous situation of not having medicine when they need it the most. People need the ability to walk around the corner or make a quick phone call to get the answers they need.
Micah Z. Kellner